Fish
by CodtsQ
Summary: A/N: Was given the prompt of "fish" and this is what happened. Summary: Waaaaay pre-series. John, Mary, Dean, and Sammy go on a fishing trip.


There was one time, when Sammy was 3 months old.

It was their third family outing. The first had been when Dean was 2, and they drove to see the Largest Ball of Twine in Minnesota because they were bored and wanted a laugh and why not? The second was when Dean was 3 and they had just found out Mary was pregnant with Sammy. They'd went to Disney World, because they'd mentioned it in passing and Dean had been so excited by the concept, even if he hadn't completely understood what it was at that age. They'd figured they could go and have some fun, screw around like the young adults they were and indulge little Dean. They'd come back when Sammy was older, they promised, so he could enjoy it as well.

Now, on their third, they decided to go fishing.

Nothing fancy or complicated or really all that unique at all. John's family had a cabin it rarely used anymore, but one that John remembered from when he was a kid. So, they went to that cabin with two adult fishing poles and one adorable kiddy one for Dean, who was ecstatic to have it. Dean also liked the worms. John had grinned and given Dean the little box of dirt that contained them, had let him hold it so long as he promised not to drop it. Dean played with them for a while, but Mary stole them away from him when he attempted to feed one to Sammy, who was sitting in the baby seat next to his kid one.

And they get to the cabin and settle down and of course Dean wants to go right out there and catch the biggest fish ever. John and Mary smile indulgently and Mary decides she'll sit this one out so she can hold Sammy and keep him warm. It'll be John's turn the next day (and of course Mary catches a fish twice as big as him, if only because she has more patience).

Dean gets an unexpectedly big fish on his line and John has to hook an arm around his son's waist to keep him from getting pulled off the dock because obviously Dean isn't going to let go of something this big. Dean doesn't seem to be affected at all by John's grip or Mary's gasp when they teeter just a bit closer to the edge of the dock. John tugs and pulls them both back, landing flat on his ass with a squirming Dean in his lap, still practically attached to the rod and reeling in the fish with so much vigor John thinks he might actually get it if the rod doesn't snap in half.

When the fish gets close to the dock and the family can see it flopping around close to the surface of the water, John grabs Dean again and hoists them both up, pulling his son back and watching the fish basically fly out of the water and onto the dock. Dean laughs and little Sammy giggles at the two foot long, fairly thin fish. Mary grins and John pats his son on the head while Dean beams proudly up at them.

And then Dean tugs Mary down closer to the fish because she's holding Sammy and Dean really just wants Sammy to get a closer look. And so Mary kneels by the thing and Dean pulls it closer, getting Sammy's attention easily. He points to the fish and says, "That's a fish, Sammy. Fish. Say it, Sammy, come on. Fish." And John and Mary smile a little because Sammy hasn't said his first words yet and it's doubtful he will today, but then Sammy giggles and reaches towards the fish a little.

"Fish," Sammy says, echoing Dean fairly well, though it sounds more like 'fzzzsh' than anything, but everyone present gets the meaning.

"Yes! Good job, Sammy!" Dean exclaims, grinning that same proud grin, only now it's a little smug because neither John nor Mary had been able to get Sammy to say anything even similar to 'mama' or 'papa', but then Dean comes along and tells him to say a word he'd rarely even heard before, and Sammy says it the first time.

John can already tell his boys are going to be the kind of brothers who're really close, who stick together and obviously they fight but they'll always come back to each other, certainly not the kind that fight and then don't talk to each other for years. John doesn't think Dean could handle something like that now, and he's only had Sammy around for a few months. And John's also sure that Sammy would be a bit less enthusiastic and bright if he didn't see Dean every hour of every day.

Maybe they'll even come back up here, when they're older, John thinks, smiling down at them. Maybe Dean'll try to sneak a worm into Sammy's sandwich and maybe Sammy'll catch the biggest fish Dean's ever seen. Of course, him and Mary will tag along, whether the boys want them to or not. Mary will still pinch their cheeks when they're in their twenties, John thinks with a smirk, and there's nothing they can do about it.


End file.
